The Confessional
by rooftopconfessional
Summary: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I had no idea about his secret. I didn't realise I was helping him kill the most powerful wizard of all time. But its over now, all i can do is reminisce and take pity on myself for the love that I've lost.
1. Disclaimer

_Chapter 1: Disclaimer_

I just want to make it clear that I do not own Harry Potter, nor anything else associated with it. It was all created in the imaginative mind of J.K. Rowling. Like every other FanFiction author, I am saddened to confess this, but I will get in a heap of shit if I don't. However I do own the character Brooke, who, I am going to tell you, is totally awesome.

This story takes place in book six; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, so if you haven't read it yet I suggest you do. Not only because it contains spoilers, but also you wont have ANY idea about what is going on.

Now, on with the story.


	2. A Christmas Party and a Wasted Sacrifice

_Chapter 2: A Christmas Party and a Wasted Sacrifice _

Sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That's where it all began. All the trouble that would haunt me forever. A lovely burden my name would have to carry for all eternity.

By the way, that name im speaking of, it's Brooke. Brooke Dunstan. And that lovely burden... that lovely burden is the one and only Draco Malfoy.

Being a Ravenclaw, I was sent to Hogwarts on the idea that I study hard and qualify for a good job at the Ministry. That all flew out the window in fifth year when I found their were other things besides school work. Like boys. More specifically, Cedric Warrington, my boyfriend at the time. We started going out at the end of my fifth year, his sixth. It lasted over the holidays, but ended in tragedy (at least I thought it was a tragedy back then) on our return back to school the following year.

That's when Draco came into the situation and took over my entire thoughts… my entire life. It wasn't until mid-year when Professor Slughorn, our new potions teacher, held his Christmas Party, that I said my first words to Draco. Or even acknowledged his presence.

Honestly, we had shared some of the same classes since first year, but never had I needed to acknowledge he was there. Like every other student at Hogwarts I had heard rumours, some of the scandalous variety, and he passed through my thoughts once or twice whilst trying to fall asleep at night. But he made such an impact that night, I couldn't help but become attracted.

It was eight o'clock and I was making my way to Professor Slughorn's office with my friends Amy Johnson and Samantha Capper. On the way we met up with Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood, who was all too happy to share with us her belief that our current Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, was in fact a vampire, a fact (she spent the whole walk assuring us) that was cleverly hidden by the Ministry.

Upon entering Slughorn's office, you couldn't help but be mesmerized by the spirit of the room. The entire space looked as if it had been dunked into a paint pot of Christmas. From the ceiling, hung drapes of emerald, crimson and gold fabric, that fluttered in an invisible breeze. Emanating from an ornate gold lamp was a brilliant red light that shone even into the darkest corners of the room. The feeling that filled my heart was that of comfort and happiness. Something that made me feel like I was home, among everyone I love. House elves ran around, making sure everything was going smoothly, carrying platters of food.

I hardly recognised anyone. Amy, Samantha and I parted ways from Harry and Luna making our way over to a house elf who was running around bearing a full tray of butter beers. We sat and talked most of the night away, pointing at countless teachers who had let alcohol get the better of them. In general it was a wonderful night spent in great company.

Well it _was_ great until an undrunk Filch (someone always has to be a party pooper by _not _conforming) dragged an angry Draco Malfoy by the ear towards a slightly tipsy Slughorn. Being only a short distance away I was able to overhear some of the conversation.

I could make out key phrases like 'this boy was lurking' and 'upstairs corridor' and 'claims to have been invited' and issue him an invitation' coming from an almost excited Filch. A furious Draco snatched himself free of Filches grasp and what he said next was clearly audible among the crowd for he said it in a loud yell.

'Okay, I wasn't invited to this party!' he confessed. 'I was trying to gatecrash, are you happy now?' Grabbing him again, Filch seemed pleased with himself, yet still managed to growl out a menacing 'No!' He continued to explain that such behaviour was unacceptable and he would be severely punished.

What happened next, even I didn't expect nor predict. And it was coming from my own mouth. During their bickering I had managed to subconsciously leave my seat and move over to the group. Pushing through a smiling Harry and Hermione, I made my way over to Draco.

'Draco? Where the hell have you been? Your late! I said to meet here at eight, not friggin three hours later. ' I turned around to a shocked party of people. Even a shocked Draco. I smiled at him slightly raising my eyebrows, urging him to accept the help. Whether it was just my mind racing, It seemed like it took him forever to catch on. He began to open his mouth to speak.

'Uh, I forgot about it,' was all he could say. I continued to clear up.

'And saying that you were gatecrashing? What the hell was all that about? Are you that ashamed to be seen with me? I knew we had issues, but this is just pathetic!' I yelled at him. He looked even more bewildered than before. Then he began to smile. I guessed he was going to join in.

'Brooke, I don't know how serious you think this…' I spaced out after he said my name. In fact I think he was actually paying me out. At that moment, that wasn't really all that important. He actually _knew _my name. Well technically I knew his name so why shouldn't he know mine? I shook my head and zoned back in on what he was saying '…but its over. I just cant do this anymore.'

Now it was my turn to be shocked. My mouth dropped open and stayed there, for a VERY long time. Well at least it seemed long considering my thoughts were going a zillion miles per hour. Did he just dump me? I go out of my way to help him, and he dumps me? Well not really… because we weren't really going out… argh, you get the point.

Then it hit me. I just sacrificed my reputation for a boy who throws it back in my face. In front of everyone who is anyone in the wizarding world. Oh boy, Draco Malfoy is going down. I gathered all the hate within me and shot invisible daggers from my eyes towards the putrid asshole. He just turned cordially to a gleeful Slughorn and thanked him before leaving. Snape directly followed after him.

All eyes were on me. Slughorn placed a hand on my shoulder. 'It's okay dear, it happens to the best of us.' At that I felt truly pathetic. I thought about confessing, but then voted against it considering that would look even more bizarre. So I bowed my head and sobbed. If I was going to go out, I was gonna do it with a bang.

'Professor, I knew it was coming. He was horrible to me really.' I lifted my head so that I was staring into the light. Its strong beams blinded me, and made protective tears fall from my eyes. 'And the sex wasn't even that great. Frankly I think im better off this way.' I looked into his eyes, laughing inside at my cleverness. Professor Slughorn was clearly taken aback by my unexpected "honesty". 'If you don't mind Professor and,' as I acknowledged the entire party, 'present onlookers, I think its best if I leave, you know, try and get some rest'. Slughorn coughed and escorted me to the door wishing me a jolly Christmas. Yeah right. I will only be happy once karma has kicked in.

I strolled back towards the Ravenclaw common room, but couldn't help but overhear voices from behind a nearby classroom door. I peered nosily through the keyhole, come on I was just dumped, give me a little credit. It was Draco and Snape having a very heated conversation.

'… I don't need your protection! It's my job, he gave it to me and I'm doing it,' yelled an aggravated Draco. I have no idea what or who he was talking about, but I was happy it wasn't me. They continued rambling on for quite some time. I zoned out on most of the conversation due to a subsequent amount of evil plotting. A quick turn of the door knob returned me back to reality. I backed away from the opening door, speedily hiding behind a statue of a witch called Gertie Kettle reaching for a Golden Snidget (the inspiration for today's golden snitch). Out stormed Draco ignoring Snape's yells from inside the room. He walked straight passed the statue and I began to follow close behind him, tailing him for several minutes.

We reached the dark dungeons. By this point I was following the light from Draco's wand. Suddenly the light stopped moving and I hid behind a corner peering around to see what he would do next. Nothing was happening.

'What the fu…?' Before I could even finish I was grabbed and pushed strongly, my back crashing against the corridor wall and several paintings whose occupants were just as surprised as I was. An arm was pushed against my throat and I coughed for breath.

'Accio wand,' I head my capturer say. Darn it. I recognise that voice. Fuck you Draco Malfoy and your stupid smart…ness. He lifted the light up towards my face and sighed, letting go of my throat making me unconsciously cough and gasp for air. 'What do you think your doing? For a Ravenclaw you sure are dumb.' I gathered myself together and lit up my own wand.

'I just want to know what the fuck your problem is. I help you -'

'I didn't need your help! In fact, you made everything worse.' I looked at him, my head tilted slightly to one side. I couldn't comprehend what he was trying to say. Fucker.

'Excuse me? I made things _worse? _Filch would have killed you in detention! I think a thank you is in order. Not only did I _save _your skin, you ruined my reputation! You made a fool of me!' Draco turned and grabbed my shoulders. He shook them slightly as if this would help me understand his side of the story.

'You have no idea! Do you?' He yelled at me. 'Im a Slytherin, Draco Malfoy to be exact. I don't _date _anyone, especially half-blood Ravenclaws! Did you see who was there tonight? This will surely get back to my father and to… This could get me into a lot of trouble. You've messed everything up!' He let go of my shoulders, forcing me back a little bit. He moved a hand through his hair and down his face, slightly screwing up his expression searching dearly for a solution. He slid down the wall and rested his head in his hands.

Im not sure how long we stayed in that highly awkward position, and why no one had come along and given us a detention for being out after curfew. Draco then mumbled something under his breath. His voice was a little calmer than before so I just agreed with what he was saying, even though I have no idea what he said. At my response he jolted his head up looking at me astounded.

'I apologise and all you can do is stand there as if this is all my fault?' He says standing back up again and facing me. I looked around thinking of an excuse.

'Honestly, I just didn't hear you, and you were calming down so I thought it was best just to agree with you.' I confessed and then looked at my feet. My mouth continued spurting out information. 'I actually followed you down here seeking revenge.' I figured it was best to leave out the fact that I let the world know he was "bad in bed". I laughed inside. I mean, I still need to keep some ammo in case he decides to turn on me again.

And then Draco did something I least expected… He laughed. It was short and similar to that of a huff, but the amusement was still there. He looked up into my eyes. 'What were you planning to do? Jinx my pants permanently down?'

'I hadn't thought of that. Actually I hadn't come up with anything.' I returned his smile, realising just how pathetic my revenge plan was. 'Wow, im really bad at this revenge business.'

'Yeah, you are.' And we just stood there and laughed. And then we laughed at us laughing.

Its funny how well you can get to know someone in a very short amount of time. Already, in the short span of two hours, we had fallen into a comfortable bond. We had hated and yelled and smiled and laughed.

'Well, I think I can hear my bed calling my name so… Goodnight,' I concluded beginning to walk off towards the Ravenclaw dorms.

'Brooke?' He asked. I turned around facing a now calm Draco. It looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Finally he said something, however I got the impression it was not what he originally intended.

'See you around.'

'Yeah, you too.'


	3. Spinning Tales and Hiding Secrets

_Chapter 3: Spinning Tales and Hiding Secrets_

After that first encounter we didn't talk for weeks. In fact, it seemed that night was a one-off. The only encounters were during class when I needed to borrow ingredients in potions, or some ink. To be honest I had heaps of ink, but I felt it was an excuse to at least say something to him.

However, he continued to act as if that night never occurred. Our bond ceased to exist. In a way I hoped he was still acting, pretending we were "broken up" and that one day he would pull me aside and tell me he wanted to see me again. How could I have grown such a fixation on someone I barely knew?

A month passed and I taught myself how to deal with thoughts of Draco in my mind. Volunteering my life to my school work. My grades were becoming exceptional and I found myself passing the time reading in the library. I can tell you looking back on it now, school work is such a bore, but it helped me back then. That was until that stupid night I induced a migraine on myself from reading for long periods of time in poor lighting.

I was regretting my decision on becoming a nerd as I held my head and made my way up to the hospital wing. It was on my way out of the hospital wing, however, that I had my second real encounter with Draco.

I was strolling back along the sixth floor, heading back to the library to collect my things when I heard a loud bang from the behind a door. I turned to my right and walked up to the door labelled "The Boys Lavatory". I took two seconds to laugh at the word lavatory, pondering where such a word came from. Another bang from the other side of the door stopped my day-dreaming instantly. I pushed the door open so that it was slightly ajar. Peering inside I found a distraught looking blond slumped on the tiled bathroom floor. His white hair was wet and dishevelled. His eyes showing some kind of frantic emotion. His black robes were dust stained and fell lifeless around him. I watched in shock for a while. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, until fate took over, the door squeaking as an invisible wind pushed it.

I decided that, instead of looking like a complete spying psychopath, I would open the door and pretend that I hadn't been watching him for the past few minutes. As I took my first step into the room, he jumped to his feet, instantly regaining his composure. In fact. He was angry.

"You? What the hell are you doing here?" he yelled as he began to walk towards me. The bathroom door slammed shut behind me. I jumped. He approached me and grabbed my arm pulling me to the middle of the room. His grip was strong on my arm, a force I wasn't used to. What was he going to do?

"Draco, I just heard a bang and came to see what it was," I stuttered out due to a speech impediment I had just discovered I had. He ignored what I just said and stood directly in front of me, his face inches from mine.

"How much did you see?" He asked his eyes interrogating mine, waiting to see if my answer would be a lie. I regained my posture making sure that he understood I had no intention of lying.

"I only saw you slumped over," I began, "You looked upset so I came in to see if you were okay."

Come on. It wasn't a _complete _lie.

His eyes softened ever so slightly. I never realised how cold the bathrooms could get until now. I shivered and my head dropped, my arms automatically hugging my body for warmth. Being in such close proximity to me, Draco must have noticed me do so. He immediately wrapped his cloak around me, the whole time not saying a word.

"Thank you."

He didn't respond as he walked over to the basins where he splashed his face with water. I remained stationary just watching him. I drew my eyes away from him to see a pile of battered old books. I walked over to them and started to pick one up. Just as I was about to open it Draco rushed over to stop me reading it. He slammed the cover shut and took it away from me.

"Don't read that."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to have to get you involved."

I stared up at his face, which was now back to being awake and serious. His hair was clinging to his head, gelled back loosely with water.

"Get involved with what?"

Draco sighed and placed the book back onto the pile. His gaze turned to the window where the moon shone from a dark sky.

"Just trust me and stop asking questions. You're an innocent in all this. If you keep asking questions, your going to get into trouble. People will think you're an accomplice. My accomplice."

He turned back to me, making sure that I got the message. I just didn't understand. He was being so vague. What did he mean by his accomplice? Instead of taking his advice and not asking questions, I wanted to ask even more. What had I walked in on? Was Draco in trouble? I was about to ask another question when he continued to talk.

"Look Brooke," he said, running his fingers through his wet hair. I closed my eyes in content, at the sound of him saying my name. "I appreciate you wanting to see if im okay, but really, you helping will make things worse for you."

I looked back up at him.

"And what about you? If I help you, will that make things worse for you too?"

It blurted out of my mouth. It came out in such a form of desperality my own eyes widened in shock. I couldn't understand why I wanted to help him so much. Why I wanted to be there for him. I was hooked onto something I couldn't even comprehend.

It seemed that Draco was thinking about what I just said. My proposition as I called it. He finally opened his mouth.

"If you help me, It would make my life hell."

What he said was so simple, yet it shattered my world at that very moment. It was my cue to leave. I pulled his cloak off me and dropped it on the ground. I walked out of the door and closed it behind me. Realisation had finally struck me. He had given me so many signs. Yet I was too attracted to him to notice any of them. Stupid Brooke.

The next morning at breakfast I felt completely shut down. I was about to sit down when I was interrupted.

"Brooke, can I talk to you?"

I turned and came face to face with Harry Potter. I turned my gaze to the rest of the table and found to my horror (not) that everyone was watching us.

"Sure."

I sat down and motioned for him to sit across from me. He made an awkward coughing noise.

"I was hoping to talk somewhere more private."

"Oh."

I stood up again, feeling uneasy under the gaze of so many students. Once I was out of the hall my thoughts turned to guessing what the infamous Harry would want from me. I followed Harry to an empty classroom where he closed the door behind us.

"How well do you know Draco?"

Boy was he eager to start, what I soon found out was, the interrogation. I sat on top of a desk acting as if what he had just asked me wasn't affecting me. What was I supposed to say? Do I continue the idea that Draco and I "dated"? Or do I spill the beans on what happened last night?

"Uh, Maybe not as well as you may think. Our relationship wasn't exactly one where we talked. I mean we talked but," In my head I knew I was babbling, which in any case is a sure sign of lying, but I couldn't think of anything else to do, "our relationship was more on a _physical _level." I stopped and looked at Harry who seemed very uncomfortable at my confession. His cheeks began to blush slightly as he continued to ask questions. However, he wasn't as stern.

"Right. Did he ever say anything about where he goes to, uh, get away?"

Wow. I wasn't the only one lying. It seemed that if my babbling theory was indeed correct, that I wasn't the only one spinning tales and hiding secrets. This interrogation could be easily finished.

"No."

"Okay then."

Harry looked around for something else to say. It was clear that my abrupt reply had given him the message that I wasn't, nor had anything, useful to say. I spent the next few seconds awkwardly following Harry's gaze until a few students ran into the room ready for the first class of the day. They stopped completely and looked backwards and forwards from Harry to me. They began to giggle and whisper to one another. Harry and I looked at one another. We both tried to bargain and convince the students that nothing was going on. More students piled in, immediately jumping to conclusions. I rushed out of the classroom, Harry hot on my heels.

In the corridor I bided a fast goodbye to Harry then walked to my first class of the day feeling worse than ever.

Over the following days I became the talk of the school. Brooke and Harry sitting in a tree. Damn Hogwarts. Maybe I should just transfer to Beauxbaton? Nah, their uniform is way too tight. And the dancing? No thanks.

It seemed that these rumours had also affected my friendship with Amy and Samantha because they were no longer talking to me. It didn't help that Harry was the guy every girl in Hogwarts prayed to be with. The Boy Who Lived. To me, he was a little overrated, but hey, he was destined to save all wizard-kind so I cut him a little slack. I was all alone. I guess it didn't affect me much considering I liked being alone anyway.

As for Draco, he had either not heard the rumour, or it he was doing a good job at hiding how much it was effecting him. A week after the stories had begun to spread; I walked past the Slytherin table at dinner, passing very close to non other than the blonde himself. One of his "friends" yelled out something to me about the size of Harry's wand, but when I slipped a glance towards Draco his head was down reading intently. I wondered whether it was one of those books I found the other night.

The weekend. Thank God for the weekend. I figured that I would spend my Saturday lazing about in the common room. But upon reaching the common room I found that maybe I wasn't welcome. Several students glared at me as I walked out of the dormitories. Instead of grabbing a spot on the couch in front of the cosy fire, I headed straight for the portrait. One girl whispered something under her breath as I brushed past her. I couldn't make out what it was she specifically said, but I could tell by the sneers she gave her friends that it wasn't nice.

"Oh, get a life."

I walked into the corridor, the portrait shutting behind me. I walked on and on just thinking, something that had become my favourite past time. Passing the Great Hall I wandered outside, glimmers of the sun trying to seep through the light coloured clouds. I walked all the way to the Quidditch pitch were I found a team of silver and green flying around. Slytherins. Which only means one thing: Draco Malfoy. I climbed the stairs up to the stands and took a seat, just watching. My eyes were searching for him, my mind arguing about why my fascination for him was still so strong.

Minutes later I had found out that when you argue with yourself no one can really win. And you also get really tired. I was beginning to dose off when a crash pulled me to full attention. With my blurry vision subsiding, I could see a tired, warn out Draco walking towards me. I knew Quidditch was physically demanding, but Draco looked ill. He sat down a few seats away from me taking of his chest padding.

"Are those rumours true? The ones about you and Potter?"

He asked the question so calmly, but spat out Harry's name like venom. I stared at him. So he did hear about Harry and I. And he did care. Knowing this, my spirit lifted - Just a little.

"Me and The Boy Who Lived? No way. I was just helping him with a favour."

"I thought I was the only one you helped. You had me thinking I was special."

I looked up to see a pouting Draco. I laughed and his pout immediately turned into a smile.

"Well, you denied me. So I turned to the dark side."

"Since when was Potter the dark side?"

"Since I made you the light side. My life, my rules Draco. What I say goes."

We sat in silence for a moment. I thought about the way we always met in the strangest places and how weird our conversations were. Upon over thinking (something I've found myself doing regularly) I decided to tell Draco what really happened in the classroom that day with Harry.

"Harry just wanted to talk to me that day, in private. So we moved to an empty classroom. He started to ask questions and then a few students walked in and got the wrong impression-"

"What kind of questions did he ask you?"

He seemed strangely interested in Harry. More so than the idea that Harry and I might have been doing something vulgar.

"Just questions. About us."

"Us?"

"Yeah. You remember right? How that night at Slughorn's party I said you were my boyfriend?"

"And you didn't think it was weird him asking about me," he paused for a moment, "I mean, us?"

Looking back, Harry did indeed have a strong interest in Draco. Im surprised I didn't notice it earlier. I turned my body towards Draco.

"Not at the time."

"So what did you say to him?"

"Uh, I just made up some bullshit about our relationship. I said something about it being more on a physical level and that we never really talked."

At that moment Draco burst into a fit of laughter. I looked at him stunned. Was it really that funny?

"You told Potter that? Damn I wish I was there," he clutched his stomach in an attempt to control his laughter, "What did he do?"

I smiled at him. I must look like such a comedian in his eyes. Except im funny without meaning too be. Was he laughing at me or with me? Or at Harry?

"He blushed so brightly, and then the whole conversation got awkward."

"I bet it did."

It was my turn to laugh. The memory of a red faced Harry flashed in my mind and I couldn't help but join Draco in his fit of laughter.

It was hard to remember just how long we sat their laughing. Or how long we sat in complete silence. As corny as it sounded, Draco and I seemed to know each other so well without saying anything. It was like we understood each other better this way. Until he looked at me with those grey eyes. And immediately a new emotion took over my body. Want.

Draco slid over the seats that separated us. Soon enough his face was inches away from mine. His hand stroked my cheek as the gap between us lessened. My eyes never drew away from his. His lips grazed mine slightly before they drew away.

"Just to make sure. Nothing happened with Potter?"

I smiled.

"Nothing. I swear."

"Good," was all Draco said before his lips crashed into mine.


End file.
